Academic Journal

Cross-cultural differences in exercise motivation among U.S. and Korean college students: evidence from the Exercise Motivations Inventory-2 (EMI-2).

Λεπτομέρειες βιβλιογραφικής εγγραφής
Τίτλος: Cross-cultural differences in exercise motivation among U.S. and Korean college students: evidence from the Exercise Motivations Inventory-2 (EMI-2).
Συγγραφείς: Cho D; College of Physical Education, Keimyung University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
Πηγή: Frontiers in public health [Front Public Health] 2026 Jun 26; Vol. 14, pp. 1831142. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 26 (Print Publication: 2026).
Τύπος έκδοσης: Journal Article
Γλώσσα: English
Στοιχεία περιοδικού: Publisher: Frontiers Editorial Office Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101616579 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2296-2565 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 22962565 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Front Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: Lausanne : Frontiers Editorial Office
Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): Students*/psychology , Students*/statistics & numerical data , Exercise*/psychology , Motivation* , Cross-Cultural Comparison*, Humans ; Republic of Korea ; United States ; Universities ; Female ; Male ; Young Adult ; Surveys and Questionnaires
Περίληψη: Background: As college students increasingly face academic and social pressures, maintaining regular physical activity has become an important public health concern. However, Preliminary data indicate that physical inactivity remains a global public health concern, with college students experiencing barriers influenced by social and cultural factors. Thus, this study aimed to examine cross-cultural differences in exercise motivation among college students in the United States and South Korea.
Methods: Participants were recruited from two public 4-year universities located in the southern United States and from two 4-year universities in Korea. A total of 752 college students (373 U.S. and 379 Korean) were analyzed using the Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 (EMI-2).
Results: The findings indicated that U.S. students generally exhibit higher motivation for exercise, particularly that inspired by stress management (p < 0.001), revitalization (p < 0.001), enjoyment (p < 0.001), and health-related factors, while Korean students prioritize social recognition (p = 0.007). Additionally, U.S. female students demonstrated greater motivation across all subscales than their Korean counterparts, whereas Korean male students emphasized challenge (p = 0.027) and social recognition (p < 0.001) more than U.S. males.
Conclusion: The present findings indicate that exercise motivation differs between U.S. and Korean college students across several motive dimensions. The results suggest that some exercise motives may be relatively stable across student populations, whereas others may be more sensitive to educational and social context. These findings may inform future efforts to design context-sensitive physical activity promotion strategies in university settings.
(Copyright © 2026 Cho.)
Competing Interests: The author(s) declared that this work was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Exercise Motivation Inventory-2 (EMI-2); college students; cross-cultural comparison; cultural values; health promotion; motivation for exercise; physical activity
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260711 Date Completed: 20260711 Latest Revision: 20260711
Update Code: 20260712
PubMed Central ID: PMC13349918
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1831142
PMID: 42433408
Βάση Δεδομένων: MEDLINE